1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to amusement and exercise devices which are set in operation by the movement of the participant's body and maintained in operation by such movement. More specifically, this invention relates to such amusement and exercise devices which are attached to and suspended between a pair of participants or a single participant and a stationary member.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous toys have been patented which utilize a central disc member which is spun around by a cord passed through the disc. Such devices are held by the hands of the user and through an inward and outward movement of the hands causes the disc to spin. U.S. Pat. Nos. 249,922; 911,582; 2,739,419 and 3,052,060 are illustrative of toys of this type.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,110,497 provides a combination exercise and amusement device which utilizes a looped cord with a tubular member centrally mounted on the cord. A second cord is rotatably mounted on the tubular member with a ball attached to the free end of such second cord. The first cord passes about the hip area of the participants and the body movement of the participants keeps the ball in rotation about the tubular member as long as such body movement is maintained. However, the body movement required to sustain the rotation of the ball differs greatly from the body movement required by the present invention. The cord of the patented device, as opposed to the cord of the present invention, is not repeatedly twisted and released, but rather is moved in a continuous elliptical manner to impart rotation to the ball. The cord of the patented device remains substantially taut at all times, whereas the cord of the present invention moves from a taut to a relaxed state as it is twisted. Furthermore, the ball of the patented device moves in a continuous orbit while the disc of the present invention alternately spins in two directions.